In Which Ranger Gets a Little Sister

We've added a new dog to our family. She's a German Shepherd/Corgi or as one of my friends put it a "Gorgiherd." For sometime my 12 year old son has wanted a dog of his own and we've been visiting the Kitsap Humane Society on Thursdays and looking at their available dogs for just the right one. On November 3 my son found her. He fell in love with a shy year old female who had been surrendered by her previous family. We couldn't take her home immediately as it was near the end of the day and there wasn't time for vet services to sign off on her. We returned the next day and after a ridiculous series of absurdities we finally manged to bring home our new addition.

When we got to KHS to pick her up the front desk couldn't find any of the paperwork so asked us to go snag her kennel card; that's when we discovered that she was at an adoption outreach event looking for a new home. It seems that someone dropped the ball and while all the adoption approvals were in the computer no one had put a note on her kennel that she was adopted. Frantic phone calls from KHS onsite staff to the adoption outreach staff, fortunately no one else had decided to adopt her. They were ready to pack up anyway so packed up and hurried back but as the event was at a fair distance and they would need to pack up all the animals could we come back in an hour. We killed time for an hour and went back. Finna (as she's now known) was back and we could have her just as soon as we finished all the paperwork. That's when we hit the next snag. Our adoption application that had been sitting in the middle of the desk when we left was no where to be found. Then another staff member asked what was missing, "Oh, is that the one I put in the recycling bin?" A search of the recycling bin ultimately yielded our application. Signing all the papers, reviewing the vet staff report (healthy in all regards) and then waiting and waiting and waiting for staff to be available to bring her to us. The 12 year old was getting mighty impatient to finally have his dog--small staff and lots to do doesn't mean much when you're 12 and want your dog. Finally, they brought her out and we replaced their slip lead with her new collar and leash and headed home.

We'd planned to transport her in the back of the Rav4 and had reinstalled the dog barrier that we used to use with Ranger. Finna had other plans. It didn't take her long to figure out how to wiggle the expanders smaller and crawl through. She spent most of the trip riding my my son's shoulders. She did finally relax enough to ride on the seat next to him.

At home Ranger was very surprised to see us with a dog in the car. He was rather excited about it. Finna seemed to recognize him as the dog she'd met the night before. We leashed Ranger and went for a walk. Finna was a bit overwhelmed with her adventures of the day and stayed pretty close to Ranger. It went pretty well. Ranger was tolerant of her and she seemed to take her cues from him.

Later Finna's stressful day paid off for us since my son had a Boy Scout Merit Badge clinic that evening. Finna was reluctant to go into her crate but once inside she settled quickly and the time we were at the Merit Badge Clinic (he's learning Archery) was a great chance for her to decompress. My daughter (18) was home with her and kept an eye on her.

The first night was difficult. We took two more walks, one immediately upon arrival at home and one before bedtime. Ranger accompanied her on both walks. She was put to bed in her crate with a marrow bone. My son elected to sleep on the floor in front of her crate so as to be close. He reports that she startled and whined every time he moved. I don't think either of them got much sleep.